Printed paper has always been folded, for convenience, to reduce the area of its main surface, for example maps. However, simply folding a sheet of paper leaves it unprotected to the effects of wear and tear and the edges in particular can, over time, become tom. In EP0288472 a sheet is described which has concertina folds and which includes stiffened portions at diagonally opposed corners of the sheet. The stiffened portions form front and back covers to the folded sheet, thereby affording the folded sheet some protection. The stiffened portions are described as being magnetised in order to ensure that the folded sheet can be held closed. EP0288472 omits any explanation as to how such a booklet could, in practice, be manufactured.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,505,140 a card-like article is described which consists of front and back transparent protective sheets between which a card-like article may be interposed and secured as the inner surfaces of both of the transparent sheets bear a pressure sensitive adhesive. With this arrangement the article is fixed once it has been placed between the protective outer sheets. Thus, this arrangement provides no opportunity for the article to be folded. Instead the area of the printed surface of the article is limited by the surface area of the protective sheets. U.S. Pat. No. 3,505,140 also fails to provide any explanation of how the card-like article and the protective cover sheets could, in practice, be manufactured.
In DE2112886 an in-line method of manufacturing self-adhesive address labels is described in which a paper label sheet is adhered to a layer of adhesive supported by a web of silicon coated material. The width of the paper label sheet, in a direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of the web, is less than the width of the web so that an edge portion of the adhesive layer is left exposed. Individual labels are then cut out from the paper label sheet and the waste paper removed carrying with it unwanted adhesive surrounding each of the cut labels. A web of paper is then applied over the top of the individual labels, the exposed adhesive and the web of silicon material. The webs are then cut through to form individual adhesive labels sandwiched between opposing outer protective sheets that are secured together along one edge. Whilst this document provides a description of one method of manufacturing individual labels, the individual labels are restricted in size to the dimensions of the outer protective layers.